Neil Horan

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Cornelius "Neil" Horan, sometimes referred to as The Grand Prix Priest or The Dancing Priest (born April 22, 1947), is a defrocked Irish Roman Catholic clergyman who is noted for disrupting sporting events by means of publicity stunts. He interfered with the running of the 2003 British Grand Prix and the 2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon in order to promote his religious belief that the end of the World is near. He continues to demonstrate in public and in summer 2006 Horan was seen dancing about waving placards in London (photograph).

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[edit] Early life and the priesthood

The second eldest of 13 children, Horan is a native of Knockeenahone, Scartaglin, but lives in South London. Horan studied to be a priest at St Brendan’s College, Killarney and St Peter’s College in Wexford, and was ordained in 1973. In 1974 he showed an interest in the Apostolic Fellowship of Christ and resigned from the priesthood, but later rejoined in 1980.

Horan became more interested in prophecy, and published an electronic book entitled A Glorious New World Very Soon to Come, that predicted the end of the world, and an electronic booklet along similar lines entitled A Glorious New World. Other works include Christ Will Soon Take Power From All Governments. According to Horan, in the Second Coming of Christ, Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem and there will be two classes of people, immortal saints, who will rule a world government for a millennium from the religious city, and mortal citizens who will become "adopted Jews" and live for 900 years.

He was ordered by his superiors in the Church to have psychiatric treatment, in Killarney and in Harley Street. He was later sacked for using his sermons to "advance his sensationalist views"; he would later describe himself as a "Roman Catholic priest on sabbatical".

[edit] 2003 British Grand Prix

Main article: 2003 British Grand Prix
Horan runs onto the track at the British Grand Prix, with Jaguar's Mark Webber fast approaching. The caption on this television screenshot indicates the deployment of the safety car as a result.
Horan runs onto the track at the British Grand Prix, with Jaguar's Mark Webber fast approaching. The caption on this television screenshot indicates the deployment of the safety car as a result.

On 20 July 2003, Horan ran across the track at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, wearing a kilt and waving a religious banner, which stated "Read the Bible. The Bible is always right". His protest took place on the 200mph Hangar Straight. Several of the drivers had to swerve to avoid him and the safety car had to be deployed to protect competitors. Horan was tackled by a race marshal, and arrested. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, aggravated trespass and sentenced to two months imprisonment.

The incident prompted comparisons to the events at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, where volunteer track marshal, Jansen Van Vuuren, ran across the main straight to aid a car and was hit at 170mph by Tom Pryce, who couldn't see him until it was too late because of the steep crest on the straight. Both Van Vuuren and Pryce were killed by the impact. Also to the 2000 German Grand Prix during which a disgruntled ex Mercedes employee walked along part of the circuit in protest before being arrested.

[edit] 2004 Epsom Derby

At the June 5, 2004 Epsom Derby, Horan was spotted by police and tackled moments before they believed he was about to run in front of the horses. He was later released without charges, although police did circulate information about Horan to other sporting events.

[edit] 2004 Summer Olympics men's marathon

On August 29, 2004, Horan, who had flown to Athens earlier that day, ran onto the course of the men's marathon event near the 35 km mark, pushing Vanderlei de Lima from Brazil, who was leading the race, into the crowds alongside the course. He held a placard saying:

The Grand Prix priest. Israel fulfillment of prophecy says the Bible, the second coming is near.

After a few seconds Horan was hauled off the shaken runner by spectators and was promptly arrested by Greek police. Although security for the Olympics was tight because of a feared terrorist attack, protecting the 26 mile long marathon course was more difficult, though the Greek police were criticized for not taking closer order with the runners. De Lima finished third, although how Horan's actions affected him are unclear as he lost 10-15 seconds from his 48 second lead, and was passed by Italian Stefano Baldini and American Mebrahtom Keflezighi at the 38 km mark. De Lima was also seen with a possible leg injury following the encounter with Horan, yet he continued the race.

De Lima later commented:

"It was crazy on the course, it was bad. For me it's very, very bad."
"I was scared, because I didn't know what could happen to me, whether he was armed with a knife, a revolver or something and whether he was going to kill me... That's what cost me the gold medal."

De Lima was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal at the closing ceremony as a result of de Lima's "...exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values during this evening's marathon."

The head of the Brazilian Track Federation launched an appeal based on the controversy surrounding Horan's interference in the marathon. The federation asked that De Lima also be awarded a gold medal, citing precedents set in past Olympic matches where extenuating circumstances have led to more than one winner in certain sports. This request was denied.

Horan was given a 12 months' suspended sentence by a Greek court and fined €3,000. Although Horan could have been sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment, the judge gave him a suspended sentence on account of his mental state. Horan also apologised.

Horan's brother Dan Horan later apologised for his brother's actions, and argued that he should have been jailed, saying

"The family are totally shocked and appalled by what he is doing."


Sales of Horan's books rose after the incident, particularly to the United States, where ~80% of the sales were. Leslie Broad, of Deunant Books who publishes Horan's work on the Internet, said he was shocked by Horan's behaviour, calling him "a damned fool" and has vowed to try to ensure that profits go to charity. As of 2004, Deunant Books are taking legal advice on whether they can end their contract with Horan.

On January 20, 2005, Horan was formally defrocked by the Catholic Church. He was informed of the ruling at a meeting with the Archbishop of Southwark in London. Horan was quoted as saying, "I completely reject this decision." ... "I appeal to the much higher court of heaven and the court of Jesus Christ."

[edit] Child abuse trial

On 2 September 2004, Horan appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on two counts of indecently assaulting a child, alleged to have taken place during the early 1990s[1]. He stood trial on 25 October 2004 to 28 October. The prosecution alleged that Horan had, between 1990 and 1992, indecently assaulted a 7-year-old girl. The jury took less than an hour to acquit Horan of the charges. Horan went on to attempt to perform a traditional Irish jig outside the Old Bailey wearing his costume.

[edit] World Cup 2006

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Horan was arrested by German police before he could stage a planned protest. He had written to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and The Kingdom newspaper in County Kerry, Ireland, informing them that he planned to dance a peace jig outside the stadium in Berlin before the World Cup final. He told The Kingdom that he would carry posters declaring that "Adolf Hitler was a good leader who was following the word of Christ", give the Hitler salute, and light a candle for Hitler at the Gestapo Headquarters. [1] He spent two months in custody awaiting trial but was released on September 15th, 2006, when the judge discharged the case. [2]

[edit] Legal restraints

On 13 April 2007 Horan was served with an Asbo banning him from entering any of the London boroughs that the London Marathon cuts through with the Asbo expiring on 8 June.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Priest is cleared of sex charges", BBC News, 28 October 2004
  2. ^ "Ex-priest receives Marathon Asbo", BBC News, 13 April 2007

[edit] External links